ROSTOCK, Germany — Vladimir Putin, bitterly opposed to a U.S. missile shield in Europe, presented President Bush with a surprise counterproposal Thursday built around a Soviet-era radar system in Azerbaijan rather than new defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic. Bush said it was an interesting suggestion and promised to consider it.

Putin's formula would force a major rethinking of U.S. plans for defending Europe against attack from hostile regimes such as Iran or North Korea. While outright acceptance of Putin's idea appeared doubtful, the White House seemed eager to avoid further inflaming tensions by giving it short shrift.

The Russian president said he would abandon his threat to retarget missiles on Europe — if Bush accepted the Kremlin's missile-defense proposal.

"This is a serious issue and we want to make sure that we all understand each other's positions very clearly," Bush said after an hour-long meeting with Putin. Speaking through a translator, Putin said he was "satisfied with the spirit of openness" from Bush.

With U.S.-Russian relations at a post-Cold War low, the two leaders sought a fresh start on the sidelines of the annual summit of industrialized nations. Tensions were raised in recent days by Bush's accusations that Putin was backsliding on democracy, and by Putin's charges that Bush was starting a new arms race with missile defenses.

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Negotiators scramble to salvage immigration bill after it failed crucial test vote

WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats scrambled Thursday to salvage a fragile compromise that would legalize millions of unlawful immigrants after it suffered setbacks.

The measure, a top priority for President Bush that's under attack from the right and left, faced a crucial test vote designed to measure senators' appetite for the "grand bargain" between liberals and conservatives on immigration.

The legislation failed a similar hurdle earlier in the day, and Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., threatened that if it failed again, "the bill's over with."

Republican negotiators were working to break an impasse on a proposal that would let employers continue to handpick the high-skilled workers they want to get green cards, rather than requiring workers to qualify through a new, government-run point system.

That change, sought by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, with vigorous backing from the high-tech community, could upset the delicate balance underlying the contentious immigration measure.

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Feds may suspend new border rules to ease passport crunch

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration may suspend a major post-9/11 security initiative to cope with increasingly angry complaints from Americans whose summer vacations are threatened by new passport rules.

A proposal under consideration would temporarily waive a requirement that U.S. passports be used for air travel to and from Canada and Mexico, provided the traveler can prove he or she has applied for a passport, officials said Thursday.

The proposed six-month suspension in the rules is aimed at clearing a massive backlog of passport applications at the State Department that has slowed processing to a crawl, they said.

But the plan has run into opposition from the Homeland Security Department, which controls U.S. border points and fears the move could make it easier for terrorists or other undesirables to enter the country, the officials said.

Instead of a passport, travelers could present a State Department receipt showing their passport application was being processed.

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Romney at odds with Bush administration on decades-long U.S. presence in Iraq

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Thursday rejected the Bush administration's vision of a decades-long U.S. troop presence in Iraq akin to South Korea and suggested a need for public benchmarks to gauge progress.

"Our objective would not be a Korea-type setting with 25-50,000 troops on a near permanent basis remaining in bases in Iraq," the former Massachusetts governor told the Associated Press.

"I think we would hope to turn Iraq security over to their own military and their own security forces, and if presence in the region is important for us than we have other options that are nearby," Romney said.

In a wide-ranging, hourlong interview with AP reporters and editors, Romney said the Bush administration would be wise to publicly disclose some goals for success in Iraq to restore public confidence. Benchmarks that would tip off adversaries, however, should remain private.

"This is a time when it would be helpful for the American people and the people of Iraq to see that we are actually making progress if that's what's happening," Romney said.

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Police say man charged in girl's disappearance may have had relationships with other girls

HARTFORD, Conn. — A girl who vanished a year ago and was found hidden in a room in a man's home assumed a new identity that made her part of his family, authorities said Thursday, as they investigated whether he had inappropriate relationships with her and other girls.

The man, Adam Gault, 41, was arrested and charged Wednesday in her disappearance after police served a search warrant and found the missing 15-year-old girl locked in a hidden closet-like room in his house. The girl, who had a history of running away from home, vanished a year ago.

Gault, a dog trainer, was arrested with two women who lived in the house, 40-year-old Ann Murphy and Kimberly Cray, 26. The three were arraigned Thursday, charged with conspiracy to commit unlawful restraint, conspiracy to commit risk of injury to a minor and interfering with police.

Gault's bond was set at $1 million. Murphy, who police described as Gault's common-law wife, was held on $750,000 bond. Cray's bond was set at $500,000. It was unclear if Gault had a lawyer.

Cray's attorney, Michael Georgetti, told reporters that before the girl disappeared, she reported to police she had been sexually abused, though he said no arrests were made.

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Archaeologists find slave passageway at George Washington house

PHILADELPHIA — Archaeologists unearthing the remains of George Washington's presidential home have discovered a hidden passageway used by his nine slaves, raising questions about whether the ruins should be incorporated into a new exhibit at the site.

The underground passageway is just steps from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. It was designed so Washington's guests would not see slaves as they slipped in and out of the main house.

"As you enter the heaven of liberty, you literally have to cross the hell of slavery," said Michael Coard, a Philadelphia attorney who leads a group that worked to have slavery recognized at the site. "That's the contrast, that's the contradiction, that's the hypocrisy. But that's also the truth."

Washington lived and conducted presidential business at the house in the 1790s, when Philadelphia was the nation's capital.

The findings have created a quandary for National Park Service and city officials planning an exhibit at the house. They are now trying to decide whether to incorporate the remains into the exhibit or go forward with plans to fill in the ruins and build an abstract display about life in the house.

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Sean Connery says he won't be back to play Harrison Ford's dad in 'Indiana Jones 4'

LOS ANGELES — The next "Indiana Jones" flick will not be another father-son affair. Sean Connery says he will not return to play dad to Harrison Ford's globe-trotting adventurer Indy.

Connery played Indy's father in 1989's "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," the third installment of the franchise directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by George Lucas.

"I get asked the question so often, I thought it best to make an announcement," Connery, 76, said in a statement posted Thursday on Lucasfilm's "Indiana Jones" Web site. "I thought long and hard about it, and if anything could have pulled me out of retirement it would have been an `Indiana Jones' film."

"I love working with Steven and George, and it goes without saying that it is an honor to have Harrison as my son," he said. "But in the end, retirement is just too damned much fun."